Edinboro University of Pennsylvania's Hall of Famer Matt Furey is a native of Carroll, Iowa. He began competing in swimming and wrestling when he was eight years old - and through dedicated practice, became a champion in each sport.

In 1981, Furey was the state runner-up in the Class 3A Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships at 167-pounds. He attended The University of Iowa from 1981-1984, where he wrestled for Olympic Gold medalist, Dan Gable, and was a member of three national championship teams.

 

In the fall of 1984, in order to help rebuild a doormat wrestling program, Furey transferred to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and in 1985 he won the NCAA II national title at 167-pounds, defeating two-time California state champion, Howard Lawson, in the finals. While at Edinboro he was coached by Mike DeAnna and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Bruce Baumgartner. 

 

In February of 1987, Furey opened a training business for wrestlers and fitness enthusiasts. Most of the high school wrestlers he trained went on to wrestle in college. The Fitness Guru receiving Hall of Fame photo

Furey began studying various martial arts in 1990 and immediately saw the physical, mental and philosophical links these arts had with wrestling. This lead to the publication of his first book and videos in 1996, entitled, The Martial Art of Wrestling. 

 

In 1996, Furey began competing in the ancient Chinese grappling art of Shuai-Chiao, the oldest style of kung fu. Furey's teacher, Dr. Daniel Weng, a national champion from Taiwan, and a ninth-degree black belt, guided Furey to three national titles - then over Christmas of 1997, Dr. Weng brought two U.S. teams to Beijing, China, to compete in the world championships. In Beijing, Furey won the gold medal at 90 KG (198-pounds), and was the only non-Chinese to win a title. In addition, Furey's world title was historic because it marked the first time that an American had won a gold medal in any world kung fu competition held in China. 

 

In 1999, Furey traveled to Tampa, Florida to train under the legendary Karl Gotch. Several months later Furey moved his family from California to Tampa, Florida, so he could train with Gotch full-time. Gotch taught Furey a treasure trove of knowledge on conditioning as well as the real professional style of wrestling, known as catch-as-catch-can (catch wrestling).

Combat Conditioning Author shows off his ripped abs Furey quickly excelled as a catch wrestler, earning him the covers of Grappling and the U.K.'s Martial Arts Illustrated. 

 

In 2002, Grappling magazine dubbed Furey, "The King of Catch Wrestling" - and in the book Grappling Masters, Furey is one of 22 elite world class grapplers who are interviewed and featured. 

 

In addition to The Martial Art of Wrestling and the international best-selling Combat Conditioning , Furey's other best-selling books include Combat Abs and No B.S. Fitness. Furey also has several best-selling courses, including: Combat Stretching , Gama Fitness , Magnetic Mind Power and Farmer Burns Catch Wrestling Video Course.